Goodbye Konoha, Hello Hueco Mundo
by Society of Perception
Summary: InuyashaBleach xover. Naraku was dead, but before his last dying breath, he had cursed Kagome and now she was stuck in another world. Who are the Espada and why do they and the Shinigami want her so much? Sequel to Kagome, Team Seven's Fourth Member.
1. Chapter 1

**BEFORE YOU READ THIS STORY, YOU MUST KNOW THAT THIS IS A SEQUEL TO **_**KAGOME, TEAM SEVEN'S FOURTH MEMBER**_**!!!!!**

**Chapter One:**

_**Recap (from Kagome, Team Seven's Fourth Member):**_

_Kagome woke up, bloody and battered to find that she had been sleeping in the bone-coloured sand, the almost non-existent breeze shifting the sand minutely. She shivered. The entire place reeked of dark energy, blood and death. In fact, death seemed to be integrated in every inch of the area. _

_Getting to her feet slowly, she noted that all the sand around her had been stained a bright crimson by the blood flowing freely from her wounds. She grimaced when the pain of her wounds finally caught up with her and she nearly dropped to the ground in pure pain. _

_Gritting her teeth, Kagome managed to raise her head so she could finally look around where she had dropped into. And her jaw dropped. _

_In front of her was a huge white structure, off-white walls standing tall and proud, though somewhat creepy, in front of her. One question lingered in her mind. _

_'WHERE THE HELL AM I?!?!?!?!?!?!'_

_**End Recap**_

As soon as she had thought this, a figure walked out of the building lazily, as if they had all the time in the world. That is, until they spotted Kagome. Then, they were standing right in front of her, eyes rimed with blue peering into hers.

"Who are you, girl?" he asked her, his voice going fuzzy. Or was that her ears? His only answer was a pained grunt before she collapsed, her entire world fading to black.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kagome woke up with the odd feeling of being watched. As soon as she opened her eyes though, she saw the reason why. Two girls were sneering down at her, definitely not moderately dressed. They had more skin showing than they did clothes on. _'Disgusting…' _Kagome thought, nearly puking. It was then that the two girls noticed she was awake and gave her sickly smiles.

"Oh, awake are we? I thought sluts always had the best stamina." One girl sneered. The other went to grab her hair, and a loud snapping noise filled the room.

The one girl that had tried to grab her hair was now stumbling backwards, cradling a broken wrist while screaming. The other girl's face twisted into a look of pure rage and malice and ran for Kagome with the intent to kill but she was also sent stumbling back, this time with two broken arms and a very bruised leg.

"Do not presume you can touch me without my consent, scum." Kagome hissed. She knew what they were about to do, they were about to try and do the most damage to her without actually killing her, for what reason she did not know. A chuckle at the door diverted her attention and Kagome's head whipped to the side, her eyes darting back and forth, searching for the sound. She raised her arm just in time to catch a punch that had been directed at her stomach.

"Pretty good girly, but can you dodge this?" Maniacal laughter reached her ears, and she had to spin around quickly to duck from a kick directed straight at her head, then she back flipped away to avoid another punch. Abruptly, she crouched and his leg whistled innocently over her head and then she did a spinning kick to try and bring him down to his back.

Needless to say, he dodged and jumped away, back to the front of the room. "Not bad, not bad at all." Kagome was finally able to get a good look at him and her eyes narrowed when she recognized the blue rimmed eyes. His hair was pale blue and he was dressed in white. How odd that he was dressed in such a holy colour when she could only sense evil emanating from him.

Wait. His aura did not only hold taint and evil, but the sickly green shot through with black showed that he was clearly dead. "Who are you?" she asked in a low voice, her eyes narrowing further as she saw a bone-like material that covered his right jaw.

He gave a crazy grin and his hand never wavered from the sword at his side. Out of habit, Kagome reached to her back for her twin katanas, but her hands met nothing but air.

"Looking for these?" her head whipped to the unknown man and she saw him holding her swords. Before he could even register what had happened, the katanas were in her hands, and she had strapped them to her back where they belonged.

The only thing going through his mind was, _'What the hell!??! How is she so fast?!!?!' _

She repeated her question again, with more venom in her tone of voice. "Who are you?"

He grinned crazily at her, showing sharp canines. "Grimmjow, 6th Espada."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

_**Recap:**_

_He grinned crazily at her, showing his fangs. "Grimmjow, 6__th__ Espada."_

_**End Recap**_

He had expected her to cringe in fear or something, but what she did was DEFINITELY not what he expected.

"What the hell's an Espada?" Kagome asked bluntly. He nearly face-faulted, but a cold voice made him tense up.

"What do you think you're doing?" a voice came from the door where he had been previously standing. Grimmjow's insane smile immediately dropped and a scowl replaced it, his features darkening.

"Visiting our prisoner." Grimmjow gritted out. "And what are you doing here Ulquiorra?" Ulquiorra stepped out of the shadows and approached Kagome and Grimmjow with an emotionless face.

Kagome observed the new person with narrowed eyes. He had shoulder-length dark onyx hair, piercing aquamarine eyes and black marking under his eyes reaching to the bottom of his face. She realized that he had the same bone-like material as Grimmjow only it was on his head in the shape of a broken samurai helmet. He was wearing white robes, just as the girls and Grimmjow were.

"Aizen-sama has requested your presence." Ulquiorra stated monotonously, looking at Kagome. She nodded, her eyes still squinted at something above his head. She was examining his aura, and found that he too had sickly green shot through black. He was dead.

Following Grimmjow and Ulquiorra out of the room, they passed through many corridors, winding through a maze and stepping past strategic traps. Kagome once caught a very faint human aura, but it disappeared as soon as she walked past a white door so she kept the location of the door in her mind.

Finally they reached what seemed to be a huge dining room, a long table set in the middle of the room. Sitting in the chairs were more of the white-robed spirits, at the head of it was one human-looking spirit who seemed different from the rest of them.

He had brown, slicked-back hair and a haughty smirk on his face, and then Kagome realized what was different. His aura had more a blue-ish colour to it and he had no bone-like material anywhere. In fact, he seemed more like the polar opposite of the other people gathered at the table.

"Welcome, esteemed guest, to Las Noches, the Arrancar base. Tell me, how did a human manage to enter Hueco Mundo?" the brown-haired man, who Kagome guessed was Aizen, asked her. When she only gave him a glare, he released his reiatsu, hoping to get her to bow down to him under the pressure. What happened shocked him.

**Kagome POV**

I felt pressure when he let his energy wash over me, but I smirked. This was nothing compared to what my power was. Ever since I had entered this new world, I felt a new, strange power that replaced my chakra. I could no longer use the ninja techniques unless I used my miko energy, but it would use a lot of my miko energy. Therefore, I could not use any of the jutsus.

I inwardly smirked when I unleashed the new power and everyone there tensed and their eyes widened just the tiniest bit.

Maybe this new world would be fun.

**End Kagome POV**

Her enormous and not to mention STRONG reiatsu washed over everyone in waves and they tensed, although some smiled maniacally. Finally there was someone strong enough to play with. It was unheard of for a human to have more reiatsu than shinigami, but hey, anything can happen.

A few of the Espada got up and charged at her, but she only evaded them with a bored look. Then her eyes widened when she felt the human aura fluctuate. Running out of the room, Kagome headed for where she felt the aura, completely forgetting about the Espada who were following her.

Finally Kagome reached the door and yanked it open to reveal a rather…um…big-chested girl (although nowhere as big as Tsunade) with orange hair sobbing. Turning around, she gasped when she look at Kagome. Her eyes dulled.

"Are you here to be healed?" Then her eyes widened as she studied Kagome further. "You're….human!" she exclaimed and suddenly Kagome found herself being glomped by a very excited girl who was chattering at a mile a minute.

"Why are you here? Were you captured as well? Did Kurosaki-kun send you here to find me? Are you going to get me out of here? What-" Kagome held up a hand to silence the girl.

"I am not here to rescue you. I did not even know you were here, although I can tell you are human so if you tell me where we are, I may be able to get us out of here." Kagome stated calmly, and the girl deflated.

"My name is Inoue Orihime. I was taken here around a week ago when my friends were being threatened and I have no idea how to get out." Kagome contemplated her words for a minute or two, ignoring how the banging on the outside of Orihime's door grew louder as the Espada tried to take it down.

"How do they usually get here to this, if I'm not incorrect, realm?" Kagome asked.

"Usually a rip appears in the air above them, and they just step through. Curious, Kagome spread her aura out and sure enough, the entire fortress was practically saturated with odd energy that lingered in the air. A couple prods here and there with her power and voila! A rip appeared to what seemed to be a deserted building.

"Quickly, get in!" Kagome whispered, dragging Orihime through the portal-like thing. They escaped just as the Espada came crashing through the large, heavy door. The last thing Kagome saw was Grimmjow lunging for her and Ulquiorra's piercing eyes looking at her with curiosity. Landing with a heavy 'thud', Kagome got up and looked around her in the new place. She tapped Orihime on the shoulder.

"Um…where are we?" she asked her.

"I believe we are in Soul Society, Saviour-san." Orihime replied, politely.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

_**Recap:**_

_They escaped just as the Espada came crashing through the large, heavy door. The last thing Kagome saw was Grimmjow lunging for her and Ulquiorra's piercing eyes looking at her with curiosity. Landing with a heavy 'thud', Kagome got up and looked around her in the new place. She tapped Orihime on the shoulder. _

_"Um…where are we?" she asked her._

_"I believe we are in Soul Society, Saviour-san." Orihime replied, politely. _

_**End Recap**_

They had been in Soul Society for exactly two seconds before alarms started to blare and shinigami started to run at them. Kagome observed them with a cool eye as they got closer. They held up their swords and katanas to her throat in an unspoken threat, not recognizing Orihime.

"Who are you people? How did you get here?" one questioned harshly, but he was pushed aside when a very tall man with spiky hair, many scars and tattered clothes stepped forwards with an insane grin.

"Fight me." Was all he said. Kagome narrowed her eyes but had no time to speak as he ran forwards and started to slash at her with his battered-looking sword. She parried each hit with indifference, her eyes scanning over the growing crowd. She registered that there were now two more people in the same white overcloak as the one who she was fighting, staring at her with interest and a tinge of suspicion. The whole crowd went silent as Orihime stood and screamed for the crowd's attention. The three people in the white _haori _seemed to recognize her and nodded for her to continue.

"This here is Saviour-san, and she saved me from Hueco Mundo." She said cheerily, pointing at Kagome who sweatdropped at the introduction. She stood proudly as everyone turned to look at her.

One of the white haori people stepped forwards and Kagome observed him with a critical eye. He had long white hair to his mid-back and wore black robes, just like everyone else. He wore old-fashioned Japanese sandals and he radiated power, even though his aura was tinged with sickness.

"It is nice to meet you…Saviour-san." He hesitated and seemed to hold back a chuckle as he said her nickname, "My name is Ukitake and I am captain of the 13th division of the Gotei 13. What is your name and why have you come here?"

Kagome looked back at him unflinchingly while she answered, not intimidated in the least. "My name is Higurashi Kagome. I simply am here because the portal from Hueco Mundo led me here."

As soon as the words Hueco Mundo were uttered, Kagome found herself surrounded by the three captains. "Are you a spy for the Arrancar?!" another white-haired boy asked, his aquamarine eyes harsh. Kagome simply raised her eyebrow in amusement.

"The Arrancar as you said are all dead spirits, corrupted with malevolence. In fact, everyone here is no longer among the living. I, however, am still alive and very much human." She explained calmly. "Since I have given you all my name, I must ask you for yours."

The shorter white-haired captain still regarded her with suspicion but answered nonetheless. "Hitsugaya Toushiro."

The spiky-haired captain that had bells attached to the end of each spike grinned viciously at her. "Zaraki Kenpachi."

Kagome found that she was now surrounded by many more people in white over-haoris, each one staring at her with something akin to interest or suspicion. An old man stepped forward, giving Kagome the impression that he was obviously the leader; due to the respect everyone seemed to give him.

"Outsider, why have you come with that traitor?" he asked pointing to Orihime.

Kagome laughed mirthlessly. "Traitors are not usually locked up and imprisoned in the places where their true loyalties lie." The old man seemed to contemplate something, but as he searched Kagome's face for any sign of deceit he found none so he turned back to the crowd.

"Shinigami of Gotei 13!" Kagome stilled in shock. These people were DEATH GODS?!?!?! "In light of new evidence brought forth from this human, we have decided that Inoue Orihime is innocent and shall be returned to Tokyo, free of all charges." The crowd was in an uproar, but they were quickly silenced by a shout from Hitsugaya.

"You all doubt Yamamoto-taichou's word?!" he roared. The crowd was quickly silenced. Yamamoto turned to Kagome and introduced every one of the captains and they in turn acknowledged her either with a nod or a cheery hello.

Yamamoto was the captain of the first division of the Gotei 13, his cane and long beard giving him the image of being wise but fragile. But Kagome knew better, looking at how he was tensed for any attacks and his never-easing guard.

Soi Fon was the tight-lipped captain of the second division, silent and deadly. She never let go of her sword, or _zanpakuto _Kagome was later told, once.

There was no captain of the third division as it seemed that he had betrayed them to go and rule over Hueco Mundo (Gin Ichimaru).

The fourth division captain was a kind-looking woman with a long braid of black hair down her front called Unohana Retsu. Kagome could tell from her aura that she was a healer, not a fighter but she seemed to be strong, probably excelling in the art of swordsmanship, whether she wanted to or not.

The fifth division had no captain as well, and Kagome nearly growled when she heard that the conceited ass Aizen used to be the captain.

A cool look was given to Kagome by the sixth division captain, Kuchiki Byakuya. Kagome would have thought he was an unemotional, unfeeling rock but his aura told her differently. It practically radiated chivalry and kindness, although there were strong hints of stubbornness. He was obviously a by-the-book guy though and he was also quite attractive Kagome noted detachedly.

Kagome narrowed her eyes when she saw Sajin Komamura, captain of the seventh division. He was a canine, yet hid his face behind a mask. "Why do you hide your face?"

He stiffened. "I am quite…different than the rest of the shinigami. They will be afraid."

"It is your choice," Kagome said, nodding, "but someday when you do get enough confidence, you will see that they will respect you for your differences, not isolate you." He gave her a shocked look but she had already turned to the next captain.

Kyoraku Shunsui was quite…flamboyant with his pink and flowery kimono over the traditional white and black haori. He seemed to be easygoing for a captain of the eighth division.

Once again, there was no captain for the ninth division either because a rather foolish Tousen Kaname had decided to betray Soul Society also to rule over Hueco Mundo with the other two captains.

Kagome had already met Hitsugaya, but she looked over his aura while he was being introduced. He seemed to be stubborn but chivalrous, and his trust seemed to be recovering, although from what Kagome didn't know.

Kagome had already been introduced to Zaraki and she gave him an amused smirk when he gave her a wicked grin, signalling that he wanted to battle her.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri was looking over her with a creepy smile, kind of reminding her of Orochimaru. He had a rather…interesting appearance with a black and white face, and his never-ending smile. He looked as if she were a particularly interesting specimen.

"A miko…how rare." Kagome stiffened when he muttered this to himself, but no one else seemed to have heard so she let herself relax slightly.

Out of all the captains, Ukitake seemed to be the most easygoing, along with Kyoraku, his gentle smile giving him the appearance of a protective brother or father. He was also the captain of the final division.

There was a moment of awkward silence. Then Orihime decided to speak. "Um…sorry to be a bother, but I would like to go back home."

Kagome nodded and slashed at the air with her katana which was fired up with her miko energy along with her reiatsu and a portal opened that led back to Tokyo, or in other words, Karakura Town. Everyone gaped open-mouthed but before they could recover, Kagome had already dragged Orihime through the portal.

They landed in front of the Sunset Shrine, and Kagome's face settled into a stony, indifferent look."Home…sweet home." Just then a loud yell of 'Kagome!' was heard before a sobbing bundle of black hair jumped at Kagome, successfully pushing her over.

"Souta?!"

Then a loud, 'Inoue?!' rang through the air and Orihime found herself enveloped in a hug by no one other than Kuchiki Rukia. But as soon as she had hugged her, Orihime's attention was drawn to the orange-haired substitute shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo. He had his usual scowl o and glared at Kagome with suspicion.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Kagome gave him her own patented death-glare. "I should be the one asking you that question, stranger."


	4. Chapter 4

**If I haven't mentioned this before to my readers, Karakura Town will be Tokyo, where Kagome's family lives, and from now on I will refer to Tokyo and Karakura Town only as Karakura Town so that no one will be confused and it will still follow the original story line. **

**Chapter Four:**

_**Recap:**_

_Then a loud, 'Inoue?!' rang through the air and Orihime found herself enveloped in a hug by no one other than Kuchiki Rukia. But as soon as she had hugged her, Orihime's attention was drawn to the orange-haired substitute shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo. He had his usual scowl on and glared at Kagome with suspicion. _

"_Who the hell are you?!" _

_Kagome gave him her own patented death-glare. "I should be the one asking you that question, stranger." _

_**End Recap**_

"Why you!" Ichigo growled, pulling out his _zanpakuto_ and swinging it straight at Kagome. She merely blocked it with a finger, the blade not cutting into her skin at all.

"Careful there. I have two lifetimes of experience. It would not be good for your health to challenge me without proper training." Kagome hissed, and she saw out of the corner of her eye that a few more people had arrived and one of them was staring at her with a calculating glance, despite the shocked look on their face when they heard her comment.

The calculating one had blue hair and glasses and he was dressed in what looked like traditional white garb. A rather…large man was standing next to him, his dark skin and brown hair making Kagome think that his family was obviously not originally from Japan. Rukia greeted them and started to explain the situation with……rabbit pictures. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ichigo shaking his head in exasperation at Rukia.

"UM, HELLO? IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT HERE?! AT LEAST SHOW SOME CONCERN YOU IDIOTS!" he shouted at them when they still did not look at him. The blue-haired one looked up and adjusted his glasses, giving Ichigo a cool look.

"The reason we are not helping is because you obviously decided to attack another innocent victim and dug yourself into a hole which I do not need to help you from." Ichigo face-planted and jumped back up, trying to attack Kagome again.

"Well, this girl just showed up with Inoue all of a sudden out of thin air! For all we know she could be another Arrancar!!!!" At his words his companions tensed and pushed a protesting Orihime out of the way, drawing their weapons at Kagome.

She jumped back and created a bow out of her miko powers, summoning an arrow alongside it, the purple glow giving her an ethereal look. Ishida promptly lowered his metal Quincy bow that was attached to his wrist and everyone stared at her with wide eyes.

"Q-Quincy…." Ishida whispered, staring at her bow with open awe.

Kagome cocked her head to the side, confused. "Quincy? What's that?"

"Aren't you a Quincy? You made a bow from your reiatsu though!" Ishida muttered, mostly to himself.

"My reiatsu? Is that what that power was…" Kagome though aloud to herself, thinking back to the time she had drawn the strange new power that had replaced her chakra. "No…this bow is made from my miko powers." Everyone looked confused.

"Miko? You mean those shrine maidens? But none of them even hold a candle to your powers…" Ishida muttered, confused. Kagome snorted.

"They are not worthy to be called true mikos. This-" She shot an arrow at a Hollow that had appeared behind the strange group, intent on getting a good meal. "-is what a true miko can do." They watched in horrified fascination as the Hollow screamed in agony as Kagome's miko power slowly purified him until he was a normal soul. He looked dejected.

Kagome walked up to him calmly. "Why have you let the darkness taint your soul?"

The soul looked up at her with haunted eyes. "My family. They killed my family. These men in black clothes with old-fashioned swords. My wife, my kids. They killed them."

Kagome didn't look the least bit shocked when he described the shinigami. "Did they? Think back really hard. How long has it been since they were killed."

The soul quieted for a moment and a look of intense concentration flittered over his face. Then a look of understanding came to him. "It wasn't them. My family died in an explosion. It's been so…so long. Do you think I will see them again?" He looked up at Kagome with hope in his sad eyes.

Kagome smiled gently. "They're waiting for you to join them." She pointed up at the sky. "They're waiting for you." The soul smiled at her, tears dripping down his face in gratitude.

As he started to fade away into a bunch of soft lights, he whispered to her, "Thank you…" before the lights too disappeared, drifting towards the sky.

Kagome smiled before turning back to her shrine, noticing that she had forgotten about her audience. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!" shouted the orange-haired loud person.

-----

"So…" The group of five sat inside the shrine facing Kagome who had invited them to tea. "You saved Inoue from the Arrancar."

A nod.

"And then you ended up in Soul Society and somehow convinced Yamamoto that she was safe and to clear her of all charges."

Another nod and a sip.

"And then you simply walked out and through a portal and ended up here."

Kagome sighed. The disbelief colouring Ichigo's voice was practically palpable. "What do you want me to say? That I am an evil demented dead spirit that wants to eat all of you for dinner?" Kagome asked tiredly. "Well sorry, but all I did was experience the worst fight of my life, get transported to a different dimension where I would never be able to see my friends again and then attacked."

She looked up to see everyone giving her looks of pity, even from the guys who had a more masked sort of sympathy. She bristled in rage.

"Hey! I didn't ask for your pity, so don't give me it! I'm not some little girl who needs to be protected or sheltered okay?!" she hissed at them. She was only satisfied when they all gave gruff nods. "Good."

"Um…what did you mean you were transported to another dimension, Saviour-san?" Orihime asked hesitantly. Kagome softened and gave her a soft smile, reminded of how innocent and un-evil she was. In fact, Orihime was like another Hinata. Somehow that thought made Kagome's heart clench painfully, and she realized that she would probably never see any of her ninja friends ever again. She let herself wallow in self-pity for a second before harshly snapping herself from it and answering Orihime.

"First of all, you need to stop calling me Saviour-san. We are equals. You can call me Kagome, none of that sama or san stuff, okay?" Orihime nodded. "Good. Now, I'm sorry but I can't tell you that, but I will say this: I'm not a spy for the Arrancar people or the shinigami. I am simply a person in the wrong place, at the wrong time."

They seemed to be discontent at her answer, but they made no noise because Kagome's mother had just walked in with fresh tea and cookies. Kagome smiled in thanks to her mother. "Thank you Mama. I'm feeling a bit tired so I'm going to go to bed okay?" Kagome's mother nodded encouragingly.

It was only when Kagome was out of their line of sight that she let her mask drop and her face only showed weariness and sadness at the fact that she had started to rebuild a life in Konoha, started to make new friends, started to drop her barrier and even started to fall in love again but still Fate had decided to play with her life like a fucking toy. Kagome was back with her blood family and she was glad, but still she could not help but mourn.

-----

Likewise, when Kagome was finally gone from their line of sight Kagome's mother faced the five sitting in her living room, the smile from her face completely gone. "Why have you come here?"

Ishida seemed to notice the dangerous undertone to her question and answered her politely. "We simply felt our friend's spirit energy and went to investigate. She had been kidnapped earlier and it was shocking to find her in front of your shrine with your daughter."

Kagome's mother scrutinized them for a while before letting herself relax and a smile made its way onto her face. "I'm sorry. But the last time she met a stranger she was pulled into dangerous situations and she always came back in pain emotionally or physically. Then she disappeared for a few years after that. You can see why I would be so protective of my daughter."

Ishida nodded. It was perfectly understandable. They sat in an uncomfortable silence before Ishida excused the group and they left. Kagome's mother went back to her household duties, humming a tune under her breath. Unbeknownst to her and Kagome, a pair of eerie eyes were watching Kagome's movements, slightly narrowed in suspicion. They scrutinized her for a few more moments before they disappeared. No one else noticed that in Karakura Town, there were a few more shinigami and Espada than usual.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: **

_**Recap:**_

_No one else noticed that in Karakura Town, there were a few more shinigami and Espada than usual. _

_**End Recap**_

Kagome woke up to the sounds of birds chirping and snapped open her eyes, almost immediately closing them to prevent the sun's glare from blinding her. She blinked and slowly opened her eyes, surveying the room.

"So it wasn't a dream…I really am back…" Kagome muttered, but somehow she felt kind of disappointed. There were no more bloodthirsty demons, evil ninjas trying to take over the world or Naraku, and with that, all her adrenaline and energy was of no use. Then she remembered something.

"Hm…Aizen and shinigami…perhaps there is some more excitement left for me." Kagome grinned slightly and leapt off her bed, tying up her hair and getting dressed quickly. Then she jumped from her windowsill and landed on the roof of a building, running across it and flipping off of it onto yet another building. Kagome jumped, twirled and flipped in the air, enjoying the feel of the morning breeze on her skin.

Just as she was jumping onto yet another tall house, Kagome felt a shiver make its way up her back and she turned around to see the most disgusting monster ever. A Hollow, if she recalled correctly. It was huge, easily twice as big as a skyscraper and it growled at her, showing blunt bone-white teeth.

Kagome looked at it dully, taking out a dagger and powering it up with her miko energy, making it glow brightly. She flicked it almost lazily at the Hollow and watched with boredom as it was purified into a normal soul. Before Kagome could guide it though, she felt as strong aura approaching from her left.

She raised her hidden katana and parried the rather long sword from her neck. She turned fully to face the attacker but her eyebrows went up in surprise when she recognized the spiky white hair and aquamarine eyes.

"Yo." She called, taking a leaf out of her ex-sensei's book. Hitsugaya seemed to be suspicious of her, but turned his head to face the Hollow, only to realize that it wasn't there anymore.

"Where'd it go?" he asked out loud, mostly to himself. Kagome surprised him, however, by pointing to a crying little soul that was floating right above his head.

"I trust that you'll take care of it for me, neh?" she flipped backwards before he could reply and gave a grin before completely disappearing. Hitsugaya was left staring after her with a hanging jaw. That is, until another loud wail broke through the silence and Hitsugaya was forced to stamp its forehead with the seal.

_Back at the house…_

Kagome was staring open-mouthed at her mother.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL?!?!?!?!?"

"Language." Kun-Loon reprimanded serenely, sipping calmly on her tea. Kagome took a few big breaths and clenched her fingers on the table leaving inch deep gouges.

"Why do I have to go to this Karakura High?" she gritted out, pissed that she had to go through school for the third time. Well, the Ninja Academy was much more fun than what a normal civilian- _ugh, I need to get out of my shinobi mindset, Kagome thought _–school could ever be. But when her mother looked at her with those puppy-dog eyes, Kagome felt herself giving in.

"But, I'll be completely ahead of the other students!" She protested weakly as a last-ditch attempt. Kun-Loon smiled.

"Then you shouldn't have trouble then fitting in at your new school." Kagome gave up.

"Fine. I'll go to your stupid school." She sighed.

"That's my daughter."

_At Karakura High…_

Ichigo sat with his usual group, and they discussed one "Saviour-san".

"I don't trust her!" There, he said it. But he was outraged when they simply ignored him, carrying on their discussion. "HEY, LISTEN TO WHAT I'M SAYING!" He stopped yelling when Rukia hit him over the head with her fist.

"Idiot." Ishida said, pushing up his glasses on habit.

"But why wouldn't something like a real miko be known by the Soul Society? Wouldn't the possibility of a power that great going corrupt be very high?" Ichigo asked.

Ishida sighed. "You really don't know anything do you?" In the background, Rukia and Orihime frantically tried to stop Ichigo from permanently disfiguring Ishida. "Real mikos are hard to find. In fact, the modern-day mikos are pretty much all fake. Most believed they died out in the Feudal Era. Also, mikos use a different kind of energy than reiatsu, so basically, they are undetected."

Orihime looked confused. "But back in Soul Society, that creepy black and white coloured captain called her a miko, so I think that he somehow recognized her."

They all turned to look at her, surprised. "What? You guys saw that captain? When?" Ichigo asked her, grabbing her by her shoulders and shaking her. Rukia bopped him over the head again.

"Don't shake her so much you idiot! She can't talk that way!" Ichigo rubbed his head reproachfully but apologized quietly and waited for Orihime to explain.

"Well, Higurashi-san found me in the Arrancar base, Las Noches, in Hueco Mundo. At first, I thought that she might be another Arrancar waiting for me to heal her, but she came and told me she was human. Then she examined the air around us and slashed at it, so a portal appeared. It led us straight into the heart of Soul Society, and we were surrounded by shinigami. She helped me clear my name, and as she was introducing herself, that creepy captain looked at her and said, "A miko…how rare." And then Higurashi-san opened another portal and it led me to where you guys were." Orihime said, doing a pretty accurate version of Kurotsuchi Mayuri (the captain of the 12th (I think) division).

"So…she saved you from Hueco Mundo…why I wonder?" Ishida muttered to himself, scratching his head in confusion. Chad spoke for the first time that morning.

"Didn't any of you notice? That girl…she was completely covered in blood-drenched clothes. If anything, I'm guessing she was a prisoner in their base." He said, his deep voice echoing around them in the empty classroom. However, it was not empty for long. The bell sliced through the still air and shook everyone from their reveries.

Students began filing in and the five all returned to their respective desks, sitting patiently and waiting for the teacher to come in and start the lesson. Even if they were going to probably run out in the middle of it anyway, they may as well show some respect just in case the teacher got pissed-off at them. The teacher walked in with a commanding air, shutting the students up immediately.

"Good morning class."

"Good morning sensei!" The class chorused. The teacher smiled.

"Today, we have an exchange student joining us. Please welcome Higurashi Kagome!" The five gaped at the girl who walked through the door, startled and confused beyond belief. Well, that is Ichigo, Ishida, Orihime and Rukia were. Chad simply observed.

Kagome stood at the front of the class with an indifferent face. "My name is Higurashi Kagome. Nice to meet you." She stated with a bored tone. The entire class plus one exasperated teacher sweatdropped.

"Um…is there anything else you would like to add, Higurashi-san?" the teacher asked her, intent on finding out something else about the mysterious student.

"No…not really." They all face-faulted. The teacher got up and dusted herself off, trying to regain some composure.

"Um…okay then…please take a seat over there next to Ishida-san. Ishida-san, raise your hand if you will." Ishida raised his hand just the slightest so that Kagome would know where her seat was before dropping it quickly.

Kagome leisurely walked over to her new desk and plopped down in her seat, slumping into her chair. The rest of the lesson passed with many whispers and mutters, but Kagome seemed to ignore them all.

---

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo whispered harshly on the roof of the school. Kagome looked at him dully, her face blank.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm here to _learn._" Kagome said, spitting out the last word as if it had personally offended her (who knows, maybe it did.) and glaring at Ichigo, acknowledging his presence for the first time that day.

"Didn't you say something about two lifetimes? Why would you need to learn something you've already learned?" Ishida asked, pushing up his glasses for the hundred and fifty-third time that day. Kagome sighed and suddenly looked very, very exhausted.

"Because my mother out-verbal battled me." She replied, sulking. The air around her seemed to turn dark with her depression. "Besides, what else would I do during the day?"

Before any of them could actually reply to that, a figure dropped onto the school railing and Kagome found herself forming the familiar seals for a jutsu, something she had not tried to do since she had arrived back in her old world with this "reiatsu" replacing her old chakra reserves.

As she completed the last hand seal, she shouted, "**Fire Element: **_**Phoenix Fire!**_" Balls of flame came from her mouth and she found her reiatsu quickly draining. Apparently, this reiatsu was weaker than chakra.

A yell came from her target and she turned to see a red-haired guy with weird tattoos on his face frantically pat the flames out on his clothes. "Renji!" the Rukia girl shouted. She ran over to him and helped him by pouring a huge bucket of water over him that she produced out of nowhere.

"What the hell was that for?!" The Renji guy yelled at Kagome, shaking his fist at her. Kagome looked unrepentant but apologized nonetheless.

"Sorry. Thought you were an enemy." She stated boredly once again. Renji looked outraged at her blasé comment and tried to run over and attack her or something but Rukia and Ishida restrained him from doing so. Kagome watched with slight amusement as Rukia tied Renji up with rope she once again produced from nowhere and explained the situation to him using a sketchbook and various badly-drawn rabbit pictures featuring a bunny she called "Chappy" or something like that.

"So we don't have to go and rescue Inoue-san anymore?" Renji asked, blinking rapidly in shock. Then he tsked. "Damnit. And I had a whole plan thought out and everything!"

Rukia looked at him with a deadpanned face. "No you didn't."

Renji looked depressed. "You don't think highly of me at all, do you?"

Rukia looked amused at his misery. "Nope. Not at all."

Kagome cleared her throat and at once, everyone's attention was back on her. "Okay, now that we have everyone caught up to speed, was there a particular reason that you guys called me up, or did you just want to give me an interrogation?"

Ichigo yelled, "Ah! How did you do that thing?!"

Kagome looked at him with confusion evident on her pale features. "What thing? What are you talking about now?"

"The thing with you, and the breathing fire, and how did you even get fire to come from your mouth in the first place? What is that? Are you like, some sort of alien or something?!" Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"How rude. An alien? Please. I was trained by the finest shinobi, where I learned how to produce elemental reactions by using hand seals." Kagome sniffed, fairly offended.

The six looked at each other. "Shinobi? You don't mean…ninja?" Kagome nodded.

Ishida pushed his glasses up yet again and thought it over. "These techniques…I don't suppose you could teach them to us?"

Kagome shook her head. "This only worked well when I had chakra. Now that this reiatsu has replaced it, even the simplest techniques can drain all of my energy completely."

"Then why did you learn it in the first place?"

"Well, I was in another dimension and I thought I would never be returning to my old dimension. That, and I had no idea what reiatsu even was." Kagome explained.

"NO IDEA WHAT REIATSU WAS?! HOW DID YOU EVEN SURVIVE WITH YOUR LEVEL OF REIATSU?! THE HOLLOWS WOULD HAVE EATEN YOU ALIVE!" Renji shouted, shocked.

"I had miko ki. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to class." Without even waiting for an answer, she turned and left the roof, her shoes making no noise against the metal steps of the stairs as she descended.

The six were left in a shocked silence.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**

Throughout the rest of the school day, Ichigo and his group were careful to keep Kagome in their line of sight as they were still wary about this new addition to their class. She was an unpredictable variable and that worried them. Would she be a danger to them?

After one embarrassing incident in which they actually _followed her into the bathroom_, Kagome confronted them, more than a little bit annoyed. Her irritation seeped into her voice.

"What do you guys want?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes at the group. In a moment of pure panic and stupidity, they actually all dove for cover behind miscellaneous objects as if that could hide them from her piercing eyes and mounting anger. Well, actually Chad just stood there, inwardly shaking his head at his friends.

"We just want to make sure you aren't a threat," he spoke in his deep voice, while the others gestured frantically to silence him.

Kagome blinked in surprise. "Oh."

Ichigo jumped out from behind a trash can and stomped over to her. "What do you mean, 'Oh.'?"

"Well, if you guys had given me, you know, a reason I wouldn't have been so annoyed. Well...maybe I would have. Who the hell follows someone into the bathroom? What the hell do you think I do in there?"

Abruptly all the guys coughed into their fists sheepishly and looked away with a splash of pink across their faces.

"Okay fine, that was our bad, but what do you expect? You randomly appear out of nowhere, save Orihime and disappear only to reappear in our school and in our class!" Ichigo replied gruffly. "Of course we would be suspicious!"

"Well, you guys aren't the only ones. I mean, can't you feel that?" Kagome asked, raising an arm lazily to sweep in around her in a nonchalant gesture.

"Feel what?" Ichigo asked, confused while the others nodded thoughtfully. He turned to them. "What?"

Ishida sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "As usual, your reiatsu-sensing skills are completely negligible."

"What are you talking about Ishida?" Ichigo growled out, feeling aggravated and left out.

"There is shinigami crawling all over the place. To be honest, they are probably better off watching Higurashi-san for suspicious behaviour than us."

Ichigo thought about it for a second before grudgingly admitting that Ishida was probably right. Kagome's breath caught in her throat for a second as she was painfully reminded of Inuyasha.

Just thinking of the _hanyou_ brought up upsetting memories that were probably better left buried. Thinking of him made her relive her entire experience in _Konoha _and everyone she had left behind. Everyone that had helped her and followed her in her quest to finally rid the world of Naraku.

Everyone she had made friends with.

Everyone she had loved.

And everyone that had loved her in return.

Kagome hunched over slightly as the memories she had been repressing bombarded her one after another, forcing her to come to terms with her loss. She grit her teeth and ruthlessly beat back and contained her grief, only to lose her control once again when she realized what she had not been able to prevent.

Neji had died.

And she had not been able to revive him.

Kagome had intended to give him a piece of her own soul in order to revive him, however Naraku had sent her spiralling back to her original dimension before she could.

"Damnit..." she whispered, ignoring the people fluttering around her in slight concern.

When she finally regained her control, Kagome looked back up at the group, standing together and looking so goddamn _united_ that she felt hurt creep up and strangle her until she could barely breathe.

Without looking back, Kagome jumped off the rooftop and let her power cushion her landing before running.

It had been so easy.

So easy to lose herself in the heat and moment of the battle as she fought and ran her way out of what she now knew as Hueco Mundo and forget what had happened.

It was such a convenient distraction. But seeing that group of friends so happy together had been the first thing to crack her mask of normality. Seeing them so concerned for each other and the town had completely shattered it when she realized that she saw her Konohanian friends in this group.

The sadness strangled her, snaking through her body until it clamped down on her heart. Hard.

Kagome kept running until she realized that she had no idea where she was running to and slowed down. There was no one who could possibly understand what she was going through.

Who could she go to?

Just as she was about to drown in her sorrow and pain, a voice dragged her out.

"Higurashi Kagome."

Shaken, Kagome whipped around and stared, completely defenceless for the first time in a long time.

Doll's eyes, glassy and empty stared back at her in a brilliant green-blue, piercing in its intensity. Her own eyes widened in reflex and she took a half step back in her surprise.

"Such a human reaction."

"What?" Kagome asked, still frozen in her shock. When had Ulquiorra gotten there?

"Your tears."

Shaking hands slowly moved and Kagome felt her fingers touch her cheeks, coming away wet. She hadn't even known that she had been crying.

"Huh...would you look at that?" she asked lowly, the low pitch of her tone unable to hide the hesitant words and how fragile they were. Roughly, she brushed the tears away and took measured breaths to regain her composure.

"Can I help you, Ulquiorra-san?" she asked. Might as well be polite, she thought. He could have attacked her in her moment of vulnerability, but he hadn't. It made her intrigued and suspicious at the same time.

"Aizen-sama has commanded me to extend an invitation towards you. He wishes for you to join his cause."

Kagome tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes as she regained some of her usual spunk. "And if I refuse."

"Then he asks for your neutrality in this upcoming war." Ulquiorra replied monotonously.

"Will he be neutral in return?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Kagome turned the offer over in her head, and contemplated it for a scant few moments. Then she spoke.

"Tell your Aizen-sama that I have no need to interfere. However, if he injures anyone who is close to me or under my protection, give him this promise: I will hunt him down, and exact my revenge. And I will not. Play. Fair."

As she had spoken, Kagome had stepped closer to the emotionless man standing in front of her and let her tone lower into something just shy of dangerous in order to highlight that her threat was not an idle one.

Ulquiorra stared down at her.

"Understood."

She was understandably confused when he made no move to return to Hueco Mundo.

"Um...you are dismissed?" Kagome tentatively tried. He made no move to leave. She sighed. Well, it was worth a try. "Why aren't you heading back?" asked the girl curiously.

"Aizen-sama has instructed me to remain by your side in order to ensure that you keep your promises of neutrality."

"Ah."

Silence.

"For how long?" Kagome asked resignedly.

"I am to give my report once a week."

"Yeah, I didn't have high hopes for that one."

A sigh.

Kagome then noticed something interesting.

"What happened to all of the shinigami trailing me?" she asked.

"They have been temporarily...incapacitated."

"So you knocked them all out."

"..."

Kagome smiled before a wicked idea entered her head.

Turning to the motionless Espada, she smirked.

"Hooo~ How fortuitous."

_On the outskirts of the city..._

"Aw, come on! You said you would help me!" Kagome whined.

"I did not." Ulquiorra replied, the faintest hint of irritation colouring his voice.

"But you didn't say no either!"

"..."

Kagome was grinning like an idiot, both inwardly and outwardly. It wasn't a good idea to open yourself up to the enemy, or annoy them, but there was something about his completely emotionless exterior that made her want to crack his shell.

In other words, do a Naruto.

"Why do you require a sparring session?"

His question abruptly sobered her. Fights, as she had discovered, were the best way to distract herself from returning to drown in those pain, excruciating memories. And the energy she expelled tired her out to exhaustion and made her sleeps dreamless.

"Please." Something on her face must have showed her inner turmoil because in one elegant move he moved and replied,

"Aizen-sama has instructed me to keep you in the elevated human mood of happiness."

To any other person, that statement would be confusing as hell, but Kagome understood. It was an agreement that any other person would have just voiced as "Why the hell not?"

"Thank you."

That night, Kagome went to sleep thoroughly exhausted and dreamt no dreams.

* * *

"You're lying."

"I saw it with my own eyes!"

"...What do we do?"

"Obviously she's working for the other side."

"But she saved-"

"It could have been an elaborate act, all planned out by Aizen. He's done it before, with no regard to who gets affected. Remember Hinamori?"

"...Yes."

"He tore down Soul Society mentally and physically with that plan."

"I remember, alright?"

"..."

"So, what do we do about this problem?"

"We eliminate it."

"..."

"If something harmful is attached to you..."

"...sever it."

* * *

As Kagome sat through class the next day, she was on edge. Gazes piercing, sharp, confused and malicious let her feel no sense of comfort or safety. Still, she bore it with an air of quiet dignity and tried to keep herself from feeling too susceptible to attacks as she sat quite close to the front of the classroom, keeping her back open to anything harmful.

"And so, the tangent theorem proves that at the point of tangency the tangent line itself and the radius form a 90 degree angle..." the teacher's voice droned on and on, lulling Kagome into a state of drowsiness.

_"Hokage-sama, these are the reports on the state of the village."_

_"Thank you."_

_Kagome felt a niggling thought cross her mind that she was in a strange situation. Hadn't she been sent back to her own dimension? What was she doing back in Konohagakure no Sato? As soon as the thought had come, Kagome shrugged it off. If she wasn't meant to be here, then she wouldn't be._

_"How are the repairs coming along?"_

_"Slowly but surely, Hokage-sama. The last battle with the Akatsuki has heavily damaged our forces."_

_"Is that so..."_

_"BAA-CHAN!" A foot kicked the door right off of its hinges. Naruto entered and Kagome let a small fond smile spread across her face as she watched the scene from above. _

_He dragged Kiba in with him and they both stood at attention while Tsunade mourned the loss of yet another door. "Dog-breath said you had an assignment for me?"_

_"Dog-breath? I'll give you dog-breath, dobe!"_

_"Dobe?"_

_Before things could degenerate into an all-out brawl, Tsunade slammed her hands onto her desk regaining order and breaking another desk. Shizune's sobs could be heard from the other room. "Shut up and sit down!" _

_"Naruto, the village has been in a state of disarray since the last attack so I want you to use your _kage bunshin_ to help with repairs. Kiba I want you to help patrol with group A at the gates."_

_"But that's so D-rank!"_

_"Yeah, exactly!"_

_"We have no choice! That last attack left us short on manpower because most of our men are in the hospital!" Tsunade growled. "We're lucky they're still alive at all!" _

_Both Kiba and Naruto took a big breath and sighed, before abruptly stiffening. Kiba sniffed around with Akamaru next to him while Naruto looked as if someone had slapped him right across the face. _

_Finally Naruto looked up in the general direction of where Kagome's transparent body was. She could see that he couldn't actually see her with the way his eyes darted around, not focussing on anything. _

_Taking a deep sniff, Naruto looked right at the frozen image of the girl and tentatively asked,_

_"Kagome?"_

Kagome gasped and sat up as straight as she could, trying to come to terms with what she had just dreamed.

Or was it seen?


End file.
